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Tooth Brushing, Inflammation, and Heart Disease

Hello wellness enthusiasts,

I wanted to mention the study on tooth brushing and heart disease that came out in the May 27th, 2010 issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ 2010;340:c2451) in case you didn’t hear about it. In short, it found that people who rarely brushed their teeth had a significantly higher risk of heart disease (and also the inflammatory markers that go along with it). Those who brushed once a day did better, but two (or more) times a day was found to be optimal. Of all the many approaches we hear about to reduce our risk of heart disease, this is one of the easiest. And frankly, there are other reasons to brush your teeth regularly, like, it will probably improve your social relationships. Interestingly, heart disease was not the only thing connected with poor oral hygiene. Those who brushed less frequently had a higher tendency to be obese, smokers, low on exercise, and poor. Those who brushed less frequently would probably need to check out their local dentistry services at https://www.parramattadentist.sydney/ more often. The link between gum disease, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease was already well known when this study came out, but it provided clear data on tooth brushing to reinforce this. Toothbrushes and toothpaste are cheap – just brush ’em! (And would it be too much to ask you to floss also?)

Yours,

Dr. Peter Borten, LAc, DAOM

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Be humble. Resist the impulse to believe you already know, and listen to others’ experiences.
Dedicate yourself to learning the truth. Go to multiple sources – not just the first one that confirms what you already believed.
Broaden your perspective. Let your vision include as many factors as you can hold space for. This means also acknowledging what’s been kept hidden in the shadows, and the parts of yourself that you’ve denied.
Forgive. Forgiveness is healing. I’m not saying your feelings are wrong. I’m not saying you aren’t entitled to feel angry, sad, victimized or anything else. I’m not putting a timeline on it. I’m only saying that at some point, a complete healing process – and true freedom – entails releasing our grievances.
Keep your heart open. It’s natural – but not helpful – to close our hearts in the presence of pain. Open it, open it, and open it some more. Be willing to feel what’s arising. Feel without resistance. Notice what happens.
See the connections. As Yogi Bhajan said, “Remember, the other person is you.” The great divisiveness and brutality of this chapter in human history is made possible through the illusion of separation. We are one. And as long as one person is oppressed, none of us can be completely free.
Be willing to get uncomfortable. You simply can’t heal if you aren’t willing to be uncomfortable in the process. Trust that the discomfort will give way to greater freedom.
Don’t settle for less than the ROOT. We’ve band-aided the hell out of this thing. Go deep. Ask for clarity and guidance and they’ll be given to you.

[post_title] => [Video] How We Get Out Of Stress [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => how-we-get-out-of-stress [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-02-08 16:19:01 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-02-08 16:19:01 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://thedragontree.com/?p=9267 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw [webinar_id] => 0 ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 8983 [post_author] => 5 [post_date] => 2023-04-07 17:32:37 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-04-07 17:32:37 [post_content] => Around the age of 20, I got a book called The Science of Homeopathy by a Greek homeopath named George Vithoulkas. It was so eye-opening that it inspired my path into medicine. One of the most interesting parts was his description of our different “layers,” how they’re related, and what this means in the progression and recovery from disease. I’d like to offer a brief synopsis of it.

Vithoulkas explains that we can think of humans as having a certain hierarchy in the way we’re constructed. First is a hierarchy of layers (which overlap to some extent): (1) the mental / spiritual layer, (2) the emotional layer, and (3) the physical layer. We’ve been hearing about the mind-body connection and the triad of body-mind-spirit for decades, so at first glance this may not seem new, but keep reading for Vithoulkas’s unique take on it. The central and most vital of these is the mental / spiritual layer, which, he says, is the true essence of a person. It’s through this aspect that consciousness enters the being, we register what’s happening in and around us, we understand that we are alive, and we are able to choose and communicate and evolve. There are three qualities present when this level is healthy: (1) clarity (2) rationality, coherence, and logical sequence (3) creative service for the good of others and oneself. Vithoulkas says this third quality is of greatest importance. Second and slightly more superficial is the emotional plane, which is our vehicle for the experience and expression of emotions as well as the receptor of emotion from our environment. Feelings can be broadly classified as positive – drawing us toward a state of happiness and creating a sense of unification with the world – and negative – drawing us toward a state of unhappiness and producing a sense of isolation and separation from the world. Positive emotions nourish us and serve our community; negative emotions (when chronic) diminish our health and are degrading to our community. Third and most exterior is the physical level – the body. Mainstream medicine has focused almost exclusively on this level, which has been of great benefit in the treatment of physical illness, but hasn't made as much progress on understanding how the spiritual, mental, and emotional aspects work and integrate with the physical. Next, Vithoulkas roughly defines a second hierarchy within each layer. Looking at the systems and functions in each layer, we can rank problems or impairments by how much they would affect the overall wellness of the organism. On the physical level, we could put issues of the brain and heart at the top of the list. We have only one brain, and if it’s damaged the consequences to our ability to get joy and meaning out of life are often dire. We also have only one heart, and when it stops working, that’s the end. (Cardiovascular disease tops the list of causes of death in the U.S.) Further down the list are the digestive and respiratory systems, which can usually sustain considerable injury without compromising the whole organism. Lower still are the urinary and reproductive systems, the muscular and skeletal systems, and the skin. Of course, there’s some flexibility to this list. On the emotional level, expressions of emotional dysfunction are ranked by their overall impact on the person. This is a harder list to make, since it’s less about the form the disorder takes and more about how much a given individual is affected. Major depressive disorder would be at or near the top of the list. Severe anxiety could potentially squelch one person’s ability to function while another individual might be able to manage it while continuing to work and socialize. Intense grief is high on the list. Lower down are moderate to mild anger, worry, irritability, boredom, and dissatisfaction. On the spiritual / mental plane, topping the list are impairments of consciousness, complete mental confusion, and delusion. In these cases an individual’s “personhood” is absent. Further down the list are impaired communication, milder confusion, poor memory, lack of spiritual connection, and difficulty focusing. The point of all this is Vithoulkas’s assertion that a thorough health assessment should examine and rank expressions of imbalance on all these levels. Keep in mind that the above examples are only guidelines. For example, there may be a case in which a minor brain issue is less significant than a severe digestive disorder. In viewing the whole person this way, we can determine whether someone is moving toward or away from wellness, and whether a given therapeutic intervention is beneficial or not. If we look only at one level at a time, we might be misled. For instance, if a doctor gives someone an opioid painkiller for back pain, the patient reports a decline in pain, and the doctor concludes that the patient has improved – without taking into account that they’ve become apathetic (a more significant impairment of wellness) – the doctor has clearly missed the point of good medicine. In homeopathic theory, in the presence of a challenge an organism will do its best to express signs and symptoms of distress at a level that is the least detrimental to its overall wellbeing. Seen through this lens, a skin rash may indicate that the organism is doing a good job of pushing the insult to a very peripheral level – the outermost layer (physical) and the least critical system. If this rash were an expression of, say, a dairy allergy, and we administered a topical steroid like hydrocortisone (a strong anti-inflammatory), Vithoulkas would say we would be suppressing the healthiest possible expression of that allergy and forcing it to be manifested at a deeper level. If the rash cleared but the patient then felt irritable (emotional level) or distracted (mental level), Vithoulkas would see this as a progression in the wrong direction. To give another example, if someone was recovering from severe anxiety through a deep examination of their fears and responses (a non-suppressive approach) and, as their anxiety abated, they developed gas and loose bowels, this could be seen as a positive trajectory. Even though the digestive upset is a new symptom, it represents a movement outward and from a more critical issue to a less critical issue. What do you think about this model? Have you ever been working with a health challenge that led to the development of new symptoms which ultimately gave way to a total recovery? Have you noticed an interplay between physical, emotional, and mental expressions of imbalance? Share with us in the comments section below. I hope my overview of this model has given you new insights into your wellness and how your many aspects are all interrelated. Also, if you’re interested in homeopathy, I wrote two other articles on the subject a few months ago which you can find here in the Articles section. Be well, Peter [post_title] => You Are An Onion: Getting to Know Your Layers [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => you-are-an-onion-getting-to-know-your-layers [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-04-10 14:42:52 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-04-10 14:42:52 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://thedragontree.com/?p=8983 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 2 [filter] => raw [webinar_id] => 0 ) ) [post_count] => 3 [current_post] => -1 [before_loop] => 1 [in_the_loop] => [post] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 7891 [post_author] => 14 [post_date] => 2020-06-05 18:16:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2020-06-05 18:16:00 [post_content] => From its very beginning as a British colony, the United States has been afflicted with a disease. At its core, the disease is fear. As a response to that fear, greed emerged. The subconscious thought process that fuels greed is something like, “If I can amass enough [money, power, land, etc.], I won’t feel vulnerable, needy, or alone.” Controlled by this greed (fear), our founders acquired wealth by stealing other humans’ lives and putting them to work as slaves. Although overt slavery has ended in the U.S., the underlying disease is still here. If we’re willing to look at it, we all stand to benefit. I often educate people on what holistic medicine means and how it differs from what could be called “reductive” medicine. The term holistic is derived from the Greek word holos, meaning whole. A holistic medical practitioner (regardless of what form of medicine they use) is one who endeavors to see and treat the whole person. They take into account the “big picture” of this being and the environment they live in. In contrast, someone practicing in a reductive way tends to see a person as a collection of separate parts and addresses themselves to correcting malfunctions of these parts without concern for the influence of, or impact on, the rest of the being. Sometimes reductive medicine works just fine. You have a headache – who knows why? – so you take an aspirin without concern for balancing your whole being, and a few hours later it’s all better. Score one for reductive medicine. Other times it fails. You have a headache, you try aspirin, and the headache’s still there. “What’s wrong with my head?” you think. Maybe you consider a stronger painkiller. Without broadening your view, you may never get to the root of it. In the case of our history of oppression of Blacks, while we’ve taken many big steps in the right direction, our nation’s healing process hasn’t been adequately holistic. There were enough Americans who were sufficiently pained by the existence of slavery to bring about its abolition, but they never got to the root of it. The prevailing attitude among White people was that despite the fact that Blacks were ripped from their homeland; that their families were torn apart; that they were deprived of rights, recognition, education, good nutrition and healthcare, and a sense of equality and potential – all would be better when the race that perpetrated this invited them to step up and enter society. It wasn’t and it still isn’t. Greed didn’t fix that underlying fear, and the enslavement and dehumanization of Blacks created its own gaping wound. The recent visibility of police brutality against Blacks shows what can happen when we choose the path of reductive medicine. The problem originated in Whites, well before they saw the enslavement of Black people – and then the freeing of Black people – as their aspirin. But true, deep, holistic healing is often a hard, slow, uncomfortable process. That makes it a hard sell for a population that likes things easy, fast, and comfortable. Throughout our years of slavery, the following years of segregation, and the most recent generation of supposed equality, it’s simply harder to live to one’s potential as a Black American than a White one. A popular graphic by Tony Ruth does a decent job of explaining the differences between equality, equity, and justice. In the first panel, we see an apple tree that leans to one side. There’s a man under the low side (where most of the apples are) and another man under the high side (where there are few apples). Neither can reach the branches, but an apple falls into the hands of the man under the bountiful side. The caption is “Inequality: unequal access to opportunities.” In the next panel, the two men are given equal sized ladders. This allows the man on the low side to reach plenty of apples, but the other man still can’t reach the tree. We may look on such a scenario as being equal for both men – one just happens to be on the better side of the tree – but in our country, the tree of opportunity nearly always leans toward the White person and away from the Black person. If you’ve never had to worry about being denied a job or loan because of the color of your skin, you’ve benefited from White privilege. If you’ve felt generally safer in the presence of cops, you’ve benefited from White privilege. We could just as well say, “If you’ve ever wondered if you didn’t get the job or loan because of the color of your skin, you’ve been hurt by Black disadvantage.” But Whites have always known about the disadvantages of being Black and done little to rectify it. By framing the disparity as White privilege, it’s clearer for White people to see that the onus is upon them to do something to correct it. The next panel of the graphic depicts equity – the man on the high side of the tree is given a taller ladder so he, too, can reach the apples. Whereas the previous panel assumes both men are fundamentally equal, with equal resources, they don’t have truly equal chances of succeeding. In an equitable scenario, we attempt to level the playing field by giving the disadvantaged person the resources they need to close the gap between the two. It can be helpful, but it’s an imperfect solution. A real world example is ignoring the systemic racism (the leaning of the tree) that causes the inequality in the first place and attempting to overcome it at the time of college admission or job application by giving extra points to the disadvantaged applicant. The final panel of the graphic shows the tree being straightened by a set of boards and ropes and is captioned “Justice”. Here there’s no need for affirmative action because the two men finally have equal chances of success. Overall, I like the graphic. However, by depicting unequal opportunity as something as natural as a bent tree, one could say there’s an implication that we got here by chance. We didn’t. As Scott Woods writes, “Racism is a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of Whites at other people’s expense, whether Whites know/like it or not. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a White person who likes Black people; it’s still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you.” Another questionable implication of the graphic is that the tree can be bent to fix the problem. As we all know, an old tree can only bend so far before it snaps. Can we really keep the old structure and simply rectify it to correct centuries of damage? We must dive deep into the holistic path of healing to find out, but my hunch is that tree-bending is reductive. So, what do we do? The old fear remains and as White people come to terms with the persistent consequences of treating humans as property, it takes new forms: the fear that healing this will be painful; the fear that fixing the system will mean a loss for those currently in a position of privilege; the fear that Blacks are cooler, stronger, faster, or more powerful than Whites and that their rise to equality will threaten White dominance; the fear that truly desegregating ourselves will amount to a dilution of Whiteness, etc. Thus we encounter many attempts to derail the conversation, like, “Don’t all lives matter?” and “If I’m so privileged because I’m White, how come I’m [poor, sick, disabled, struggling, etc.]?” I don’t think I need to point this out, but acknowledging the advantages of being White doesn’t mean blaming White people for their whiteness. White privilege shouldn’t be conflated with White guilt. And whiteness alone doesn’t guarantee someone a good life. Life is, after all, what we make it. I’m not an expert on racism, so I’m sharing this amazing list of resources (mostly for White people) – books, podcasts, videos, and articles by people who have made this their life’s work. Learn what they have to teach and amplify their voices. What I do know is holistic healing and by applying these principles to our disease, I believe we truly shall overcome.

Be humble. Resist the impulse to believe you already know, and listen to others’ experiences.
Dedicate yourself to learning the truth. Go to multiple sources – not just the first one that confirms what you already believed.
Broaden your perspective. Let your vision include as many factors as you can hold space for. This means also acknowledging what’s been kept hidden in the shadows, and the parts of yourself that you’ve denied.
Forgive. Forgiveness is healing. I’m not saying your feelings are wrong. I’m not saying you aren’t entitled to feel angry, sad, victimized or anything else. I’m not putting a timeline on it. I’m only saying that at some point, a complete healing process – and true freedom – entails releasing our grievances.
Keep your heart open. It’s natural – but not helpful – to close our hearts in the presence of pain. Open it, open it, and open it some more. Be willing to feel what’s arising. Feel without resistance. Notice what happens.
See the connections. As Yogi Bhajan said, “Remember, the other person is you.” The great divisiveness and brutality of this chapter in human history is made possible through the illusion of separation. We are one. And as long as one person is oppressed, none of us can be completely free.
Be willing to get uncomfortable. You simply can’t heal if you aren’t willing to be uncomfortable in the process. Trust that the discomfort will give way to greater freedom.
Don’t settle for less than the ROOT. We’ve band-aided the hell out of this thing. Go deep. Ask for clarity and guidance and they’ll be given to you.

Please share about your experience. We all learn from this conversation. Much love, Peter [post_title] => Holistic Medicine for Racism [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => holistic-medicine-for-racism [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2020-06-07 23:36:33 [post_modified_gmt] => 2020-06-07 23:36:33 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://thedragontree.com/?p=7891 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 6 [filter] => raw [webinar_id] => 0 ) [comment_count] => 0 [current_comment] => -1 [found_posts] => 233 [max_num_pages] => 5 [max_num_comment_pages] => 0 [is_single] => [is_preview] => [is_page] => [is_archive] => 1 [is_date] => [is_year] => [is_month] => [is_day] => [is_time] => [is_author] => [is_category] => 1 [is_tag] => [is_tax] => [is_search] => [is_feed] => [is_comment_feed] => [is_trackback] => [is_home] => [is_privacy_policy] => [is_404] => [is_embed] => [is_paged] => [is_admin] => [is_attachment] => [is_singular] => [is_robots] => [is_favicon] => [is_posts_page] => [is_post_type_archive] => [query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => f4b6c402ed3ba4c25b60ccb1ec194110 [query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] => [thumbnails_cached] => [allow_query_attachment_by_filename:protected] => [stopwords:WP_Query:private] => [compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => query_vars_hash [1] => query_vars_changed ) [compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => init_query_flags [1] => parse_tax_query ) )

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